VISITORS FROM THE FERAL EXCHANGE NETWORK

Today was another hot day: 110F. The blinds were closed and dark sheets were draped over them. The fans were on full. Group energy was on low. Saf strung together a wind chime made out sticks and bits of metal she’d collected from the desert. Kirsten, Nayara and Na.ru cut up and coloured old water bottles they’d also collected from around the property, twisting and heating them into beads for bracelets. These would be items for gifting or bartering, as there was word we may get travellers passing through Drylab tonight.

The travellers arrived at around 7PM.They were members of the Feral Exchange Network. A group of rebel travellers who fly under the radar of governments, allotting a space in their suitcase for goods that will be given or traded along their route. The rules of the Feral Exchange are that the goods must be carried with them and given in-person. This must be documented for the archives. They asked if we would accept their gifts: Smoked Salmon. Cheese. Chocolate. Coffee. Two apples. It was food we hadn’t seen in forever. Group the energy was back on high.

We took them on a tour of Drylab and invited them to stay for dinner, offering three water bottle-bead bracelets, a block-print by BCC, and one of Moso’s drawings of our backyard (the Mojave Desert) as a thank you for the Ferally Traded food gift. They told us about their other radical work, which involved conjuring futures in order to figure out new ways of existing in the present. It is too bad they have to work so covertly… we could have used this back before the privatization and rations of water. We could use this now. Perhaps we too, can learn to conjure.